Jump And Fall
by ohprincess
Summary: Darien is the uber handsome and well loved super star. Serena is a regular girl and a talented ballerina but the biggest klutz when not on her tippy toes. Fate suddenly brings them together after a whirl wind of events make their worlds collide.
1. Chapter 1

Hey, this is my new story. If you read my profile, you'd know that I mentioned I'd jump from one story to another, & I do apologise. BUT I will try to post as much of this story AND _'Eternally Yours'_ in my busy and stressful life. Grrr... I did limit myself to posting and focusing on TWO stories at a time though, despite me already typing a third one. So many ideas so little time.  
*sigh*

Well, enjoy!

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**Warning- **Major OOC; NO talking cats, NO Sailor Senshis (their alter egos, yes, but superheros, no), NO Tuxedo Mask, NO evil monsters trying to take over the world (evil people, yes, however) & NO Sailor Moon...  
Oh, & the obvious warning: Mature Content for future chapters.

**Disclaimer-** I do not & will never own Sailor Moon characters. Except for the obvious characters that I clearly made up...

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**JUMP & FALL**

**CHAPTER ONE:**

**A MESS OF A DREAMER WITH THE NERVE TO ADORE YOU**

**THE EAR** piercing screams coming from hundreds of girls _and _guys could be heard from miles away, as they screamed for one name and one name only.

"Oh my Gosh! Daaarieeen!"

"Darien! Darien! Marry me!"

"I love you, Darien!"

The crowd had bunched up at the entrance of the Mall, watching as their favourite super star walked a path cleared from all their craziness and grasping hands reaching out for him. He smiled and waved as he made his way to the white clothed tables that had been set up for him to sign the autographs his fans were desperate to have. Following one of his many guards, he sat down before a bunch of head shots of him and a handful of black Sharpies.

Leaning back on the comfortable, fold out chair, he watched as multiple security guards from the Mall and some of the personal ones his agent had hired, tried to calm the crowd down, trying to get them into an orderly line so that the autograph session could start. He laughed inside as he remembered his night as the chaos in front of him continued. His night had been filled with girls practically jumping into his arms; grinding up against him on the dance floor every chance they got. Lots of drinking and super models, more drinking and actresses he'd never met, more drinks ordered and aspiring models and actresses alike introduced themselves to him but in his case they had thrown themselves all over him. Not that he minded, because out of all his choices last night he had gone home with another Barbie Doll blond who wanted to work with him in the future- maybe as an extra if she were lucky enough.

He had left her alone in the hotel he had booked for night, with no number or any means of a way of being able to contact him. She had been fun, he had to admit that, but that was it. There was no way he was going to have a relationship with her or with anyone at all right now despite what the tabloids might have printed today. He could imagine headlines reading- _At it again! Shield's leaves nightclub with Mystery Blond_ and _Is this the beginning of a new celebrity love?_ At least the Barbie Doll blond would get her fifteen minutes of fame which could possibly sky rocket her career for another few months or so. But in the end she would be like the others in Darien's life- just a girl who was with him for _one_ night of his life.

Sighing, he suddenly realised his parents were most likely to get reeled up again from his latest escapades plastered all over every gossip magazine, keeping track on him. Then again, it wasn't like they hadn't had their fair shares of scandals and what not in the Hollywood world. Sighing again, he knew he would have to visit them afterwards and as much as he loved and cared for his parents, his visits were always about, _"Why haven't you settled down yet?" _or _"What's this I hear you've had at least three, THREE, women in ONE week?" _and of course this- _"When I was your age, I had already proposed to your mother..." _And it would go on and on.

Lost in his sudden change of thoughts, he was suddenly interrupted by a lady who stared at him with concern as she carefully watched him collect his thoughts back to reality. She was at least in her forties, wearing a black head piece over her fading brown hair.

"Mr Shields are you alright?" she asked, gently patting his shoulder.

When he nodded, her knowing gray eyes twinkled and she spoke into her microphone that touched her cheeks, "Mr Shields is ready. Please forward the first ten people."

Taking off his dark sun glasses, he readied himself for the _very _long hours to come; this was his third autograph signing this year and probably his fiftieth one in his whole career and hopefully the last one for this year. Why couldn't they just print his signature and copy them onto his pictures?

As he signed and smiled, he inwardly thought he needed a break; God knows he had to have a break. Darien _wanted_ a break. And even though he loved the world he was living in, sometimes it was so suffocating he could no longer breathe.

It was time for that break he promised himself years ago- where he didn't give a damn as to whether or not the whole world would miss _the_ Darien Shields.

**- & . . .**

Nineteen year old Serena Tsukino ran for her life. As fast as her five feet and two inches of a body could take her, because _He_ was here at this very moment, in her part of the city! And of all the ways of finding out, she had found out through the radio she had been mindlessly listening to as she took her bath. What made it worse, was that His _number one fan_, which was _her_, had only found out twenty minutes ago when He supposedly had already been at the Mall for two hours.

How could she have not known about this? She felt embarrassed to even think of herself as his number one fan at the moment! A number one fan would have known immediately about something like this happening!

The something being that the _one_ and _only_ Darien Shields was having an autograph signing only an hour away from her.

_Oh please, oh please, still be there! _She thought. Her golden hair clung to her face as her Caribbean blue eyes widened at the sight of the large crowd that had gathered at the Mall entrance for hours now. Sighing and relieved that she had made it on time; she began to walk slowly towards the crowd.

"Due to some personal problems, Mr Darien Shields can no longer continue this autograph signing session. I hope you all understand and have a beautiful day!"

Serena froze as she listened to the announcement being made through a mega-phone. She heard the protests of the other fans ahead of her as some already began to leave, shaking their heads in disappointment. All of a sudden-

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Serena, where have you been? You're an hour late!" said a dark haired, violet eyed beauty who was a friend of Serena's; her name was Raye.

Four pairs of eyes watched as Serena slumped into her usual seat at the internet café, called The Crown, where the group always hung out at whenever they all had the chance to meet up on holidays or just days where they felt like bumming out. Especially now that school was over for the year and it was summer break, each of them were now occupied with a new job or already busy working hard with what job they had and what they were good at.

Serena- even though she no longer needed to- was currently still taking ballerina lessons whilst teaching it too for little girls at the dance studio the University provided, where in turn she was studying for a Bachelor of Visual Arts. She hadn't found her inner artist until her final year of High School, where everyone had been ultimately surprised with how good she had become with her art pieces and drawings and expressing them. Not only was she the best and most graceful ballerina in their school that year, but she had also become the Da Vinci of _Avery Senior High School._

Meanwhile, Raye Hino was picking up gigs from bars to clubs at night to perform as she continued to help her Grandfather during the day with their family business, _The Shrine,_ a place to relax in their sauna or to have a massage by some of the city's best masseuses or masseurs. But when in school, she had a completely different demeanour towards completing her major- Bachelor of Laws and Media Studies, where singing would have to come second if she were to graduate. As much as she loved it, it was more of a hobby and a stress relief; besides, she felt she had to be realistic with her life despite all the dreaming.

Serena mumbled her reply which none of the four girls sitting around her caught.

"Huh?" prodded Mina- a gorgeous, blond hair and blue eyed girl who could easily pass as Serena's sister for those who weren't acquainted with them. For the past two weeks of their summer, Mina had been able to snatch a few photo-shoots which later got her demanded even more in the fashion world. Her modeling agency, _Butterfly Modeling Agency_, were being swamped with phone calls asking _just_ for Mina Aino. And when giving her modeling career on break she focused on trying to complete school to gain her Bachelor of Journalism, just in case things didn't go too well with modeling she hoped to become Chief Editor for her very own elite magazine. Who knows?

"I said- never mind," Serena replied, this time audible.

"So... You weren't at some super star's autograph signing at the Mall?" Lita asked. She was the tallest of the group, with dark but beautiful green eyes and brown hair that was softly curled. Not only was she the tallest but the toughest one too and underneath all that she was the biggest softie and a really great cook too, the reason why she was taking up Bachelor of Business- majoring in Management and Hospitality, to hopefully one day own her own restaurant. But for the mean time, Lita Kino had scored a spot as an Assisting Chef at a prestigious night restaurant, _Botany Éclair_,just for the summer.

Serena's head snapped up, to glare at her green eyed friend, "What do _you_ know about it?"

"About what?" Lita asked innocently.

"About Darien Shield's autograph-" Serena stopped as she mentally hit herself.

"I never said his name," Lita continued with a chuckle as everyone else giggled.

Serena blushed and sighed, giving up trying to cover her tracks. Sighing she asked, "Fine. How'd you guys find out?"

From that question, Raye, Mina and Lita turned their heads to look at their shyest and final friend off the group- Amy Mizuno- an aspiring doctor, currently studying for her Bachelor of Health Sciences, majoring in Human Physiology and Anatomy _while_ doing a Master of Health Information Management. And if you thought that was it, you thought wrong as Amy wanted to continue her studies to complete a Master's degree of Clinical Neuropsychology before studying even more in a Medical School to become a doctor following her Mother's footsteps. So, with her blue black hair and dark blue eyes and innocent features, she was easily dubbed as the groups nicest, most caring and purest one; only her closest friends knew of the fire she had within her that she hid from everyone else. Aside from that, she was currently working as a waitress in the same restaurant as Lita, which worked well for her as she preferred to study during the day even if it was their summer break.

Amy blushed in turn, not embarrassed for herself but for her blond haired friend who sat across from her, with her big blue eyes and weird hairstyle she had had ever since Amy knew her from Middle School. _Oh Serena,_ Amy thought shaking her head.

Everyone waited, and when Amy still hadn't done anything, Mina, who sat beside her, gently nudged her. Finally making up her mind, Amy pulled out her Black Berry and began frantically speaking, "I'm so sorry Serena. I don't know why it gotten sent to me-"

"Of course you do, Amy!" Raye interrupted, "After all, you're the only one here who can tolerate her as a friend."

"But that's the thing, she _isn't_ really much of a friend as you girls are to me," Amy continued.

"Nawww... Ames- just show her," Lita said.

Serena's eyes narrowed, looking at each one of her best friends as Amy and Mina began fiddling with the phone, whispering harshly. After a few moments, Mina gently placed the phone onto the table and pushed it slowly towards Serena. Looking down at the screen, Serena saw that they were on a YouTube page that had the title- _**Crazy Girl Crazy for Shields (A MUST WATCH!)**_. Frowning slightly, Serena couldn't make much off the screen cap of the video which was showing bricks and leaves, but for some reason her heart beat picked up and her palms began to sweat.

_No... It couldn't be!_

"Go on, push the button. Play it," Raye urged on.

Shaking slightly, Serena pressed play and reddened at the horror of seeing her displayed on the small screen for all YouTubers to see. _Oh, my GOD!_ _How? When? What?_ Her mind panicked. It was the embarrassing display she had regretted staging as she watched herself kneeling on the pavement by the mall she had been at earlier in the day, screaming in despair of having just found out that Darien was no longer there. There were giggles that could be heard in the video as it shifted away from Serena, revealing non other than her rivalry- Ann Oaks.

_[Camera zooms in on Serena, her trade mark pigtails being a dead give away.]_

"_Noooooooooo!" Serena was screaming._

_[Camera shakes and Ann's face was smiling at it.]_

"_She got like this after it was announced that Darien had just left," Ann talked into the video as her friends giggled around her. _

_[Camera shifts onto a poster of Darien and the time table of his appearance.]_

_More giggling was heard._

_[The camera is zoomed back onto Serena who sat limply and sobbed...]_

"She is just plain _evil!_" Serena growled as she picked up the phone, ready to smash it on the ground. She was ready to smash anything really.

"Hey hey! Put that phone down nice and slowly, Serena," Amy said as she leaned over the table to grab her Black Berry away from the murderous looking, blond pigtailed girl.

"But she does have a point, Serena," Raye began. Serena shot her a deathly glare, but Raye ignored it as she continued to speak, "I mean- you are _crazy_ for him. _Way _too obsessed actually. Come on, you've loved him since High School and you _still_ act like you're in High School when it's about him."

"She's right you know," Mina muttered as Lita just nodded.

"What- what are you guys saying?" Serena was on the verge of spilling more tears, but she bit her lip to try and keep them at bay. "That- that-"

"It's time to grow up. You're nineteen. You _have_ a boyfriend who loves you to bits but you're still dreaming off meeting this- this guy!" explained Raye, in what she believed was a much calmer and nicer version than what she had been thinking.

"Plus, it's known everywhere what kind of guy he is. Why would you want to dream of meeting a guy who, I'm pretty sure has _never_ had a relationship for more than a week or whatever? I mean, it's not worth it. He's pretty much Hollywood's Playboy," Lita joined in. "Plus, if you ever did end up meeting him, and he broke your heart, he would definitely get a beating from me which will _so _no longer make him a Heart throb."

"How could you say that, Lita? I remember when _you _all liked him _too_. Yes, even you, Amy." Although she tried to defend herself, Serena knew she already lost.

Once again, Amy blushed as she said, "Exactly that, Serena. _Liked._ We grew out off him. Yes, he's still a good actor and handsome but- Seiya has told us that- Well..."

"What Amy is trying to say is that, Seiya told Jed who told me that, if you don't start seeing him as someone you could _really_ be with, he might as well just let you go. Plus, he doesn't get the whole obsession thing about Darien," Mina said, finishing off with a slurp to her milk shake.

Serena hung her head, not looking at any of her friends. She liked Seiya, she _really_ did, but she just wasn't that committed yet. And she had to admit, she was still waiting for an adventure. _But what kind of adventure exactly?_ She began to doubt.

Raye sighed and wrapped her arms around Serena, "We just care about you, Serena. We love you and just don't want to see you get hurt." She gave a slight squeeze before unwrapping herself from Serena's body and shifting her attention back to her mocha flavoured iced drink.

Letting out a sigh, Serena lifted her gaze but not daring to look at any of her friends. "I guess you guys are right. Maybe it is time I should grow up," she said. The girls gave little smiles and nods while Serena stood up. "I have to go and see Seiya. I promised him I'd go over his house today." With that, she grabbed her mini shoulder bag and waved over her shoulders without a glance back to her friends.

"I wonder if Seiya knows what he's getting himself into?" Mina sighed.

Raye just nodded and continued sipping her drink; Lita just smiled and flipped her phone open, waiting for a reply to a message she had just sent.

"It's alright guys, Serena will make the right choice. She cares for Seiya and she wouldn't hurt him," Amy said.

"I hope you're right, Ames," Lita mumbled. All the girls looked over at her, their question obvious on their faces- Why? "Because, Yaten just replied saying that Seiya had chosen a ring today. And well- I guess today is the day he's finally going to ask Serena-"

"What! Already? He's going to propose?" Mina cut in.

"Oh, Mina, where have you been these past few days?" Amy asked.

"Dazing off with her new lover boy, perhaps?" Raye chided.

"I'm serious, guys!"

"Mina, he's not _exactly_ proposing. He's more like..."

"Committing," Amy finished for Lita.

"Yeah."

"Huh?"

"Mina, seriously? Where _have_ you been?" Raye sighed as she shook her head, "Remember? Seiya's whole plan to have a few weeks of a romantic break with Serena, on a luxurious cruise ship?"

"Oooh... So he's just, like, giving her a-"

"Yes," Lita laughed.

**- & . . .**

"Darien, why won't you just settle down now, darling?" an elegant looking woman asked, with her professionally short cropped, raven hair just recently done and eyes as dark as the deep oceans, with her skin finally showing signs of aging which she didn't really mind as she found countless use of botox and plastic surgeries useless.

"Ma, it's not that simple-" Darien began, sitting in front of his parents on a black leather settee in one of the two sitting areas of their elegant seven bedrooms and three stories high of a mansion.

"_Not_ that simple? Son, I married your mother at twenty-three and look how happy we are still after twenty-six years of marriage!" His father said. A man who could still pass to be in his late thirties but his greying hair was the dead giveaway however he- the greatest rocker of the 80's and once a major heart throb, much like his son now, and one of the world's biggest party animal who was later tamed- became and still now is a big time music producer, the one and only, Sterling Shields. The man which Darien was a spitting image off in Sterling's younger days, minus the whole mullet thing.

Darien looked over towards his two-time Oscar winner of a mother and mentioned tamer of the once wild Sterling Shields and now Hollywood's most respected socialite- Judy Spelling Shields, who just delicately shrugged her shoulders and gave him a look that clearly said- You know how your father is like, darling, just make him happy for now. It was her eyes which Darien was blessed with, however- his were much steelier and mysterious unlike his mother's who was soft and gentle, despite the dark intensity of their blue eyes.

Shaking his head, he ran his hands through his jet black hair and leaned against his knees, looking down at the beige coloured carpet of the room. "Fine," he finally said after a few minutes of silence, "But I'm taking a break. I need to clear my head."

"Whatever works for you. Just as long as you start thinking about _real_ relationships when you get back, instead of these- these romping rampages of yours!"

"Yes, Pa. I'll think about it," Darien replied. It was really hard for Darien to believe that his father had once been one of the craziest and wildest rockers in the world especially now that, Sterling Shields seemed much more of a man who acted like he never had anything scandalous written about him. Which was beyond hardly true, as Darien remembered as a teen, Googling his father once and reading all the things he had done. Then again, Darien was pretty much of a repeat of Sterling, the only difference being, Sterling had fallen in 'love' at twenty-three, whereas, Darien had just celebrated his twenty-fourth birthday and was yet to experience something like- love; even yet he was still had to experience _any_ feeling close to even _liking _a girl.

_Feelings. Huh. _He thought.

"What are you going to do?" His mother's melodic voice entered his thoughts.

"Oh, I was thinking about going on a cruise. Make the media believe that I'm off to Hawaii or something, but I'd really like to go on a cruise ship for some time," he replied. He'd actually already planned everything. He wanted _no one_ to know, okay maybe a few people, but that was it.

His father seemed pleased about the whole idea that his son was trying to get away from the lifestyle Hollywood had to offer him, even if it was only for a few weeks or so. "Cruise ship, huh? Maybe you'd even find someone on there."

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**- & -  
END OF JUMP AND FALL **_**CHAPTER ONE:**__**A MESS OF A DREAMER WITH THE NERVE TO ADORE YOU**_

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**REVIEW! See that button underneath all my jibber jabber? CLICK IT!**

**IT SCREAMS- CLICK ME! CLICK ME! So... Do it! :)**

**& don't forget to read ****'Eternally Yours'****!**

**x L.**


	2. Chapter 2

You have permission to throw things at me… *ducks*  
And for those of you who read **ETERNALLY YOURS**, don't you fret, I'm still doing it.  
I just had a major case of a writer's block (& a lack of enthusiasm, I admit) but I hope to get a chappie up for **EY** in a week or so.

Enjoy **JUMP AND FALL** for now!

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**Warning- **Major OOC; NO talking cats, NO Sailor Senshis (their alter egos, yes, but superheros, no), NO Tuxedo Mask, NO evil monsters trying to take over the world (evil people, yes, however) & NO Sailor Moon...  
Oh, & the obvious warning: Mature Content for future chapters.

**Disclaimer-** I do not & will never own Sailor Moon characters. Except for the obvious characters that I clearly made up...

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**JUMP & FALL**

**CHAPTER TWO:**

**CHAPTER TWO: I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT SO DON'T ASK ME**

"**COME ON** Serena, we're going to be late! Seiya's already texted me, asking where we are!" Raye yelled from downstairs.

"I'm coming!" Serena yelled back as she continued stuffing her Gucci kitbag with the necessary- albeit- last minute things she needed for her two week vacation that had been planned a few months ago with her boyfriend. A boyfriend she has yet to reply to about a full time commitment towards each other; could she do it? They'd already been together for eight months now, why not just take the leap and save herself for marriage to him somewhere in the future. It wasn't not like she was going to find anybody else as perfect and comforting as him, right? Serena sighed and pushed away her thoughts as she began to gather her makeup and toiletries.

After a few more minutes of packing and her two kitbags were bulging, Serena struggled downstairs and heaved one of the two bags into Lita's arms, who rolled her eyes and grabbed the other one making the whole struggle look easy.

"Geez, that girl has got some muscles," Serena heaved.

"No, babe, you're just-"

"Don't you dare say it, Raye," Serena warned as her friend let out a laugh following Serena out of the house as she locked the doors behind them.

"Mina sends her wishes and farewells via text, by the way. She got stuck in a photo shoot," Raye said as they walked down the drive way towards the black Hilux 4WD that awaited them.

Serena hopped into the front seat with Lita starting the engine and Amy- whose eyes were glued to a book- in the back of the car with Raye.

"Hey there, Ames! Serena chirped.

Amy momentarily looked up from her book to return Serena's greeting with a smile, "Morning Serena. You've got everything, yes?"

"Yup. I got your message this morning and everything is packed," Serena replied.

"So you followed the list?"

"Nah, she packed her whole bedroom," Raye butted in.

"_I did not_-"

BEEP! BEEP!

Serena's whinging was abruptly interrupted by Lita, whose arms were waving everywhere as she yelled out obscenely towards a group of people now on the other side of the road.

"Get off the bloody road! There's a reason we made pedestrian crossings so drivers like me don't run over your stupid asses!" Lita yelled, leaning out her open window.

"Lita! Eyes on the road, lady! And we seriously have to do something about that road rage of yours," Raye yelled over Lita's cursing.

Breathing in and out heavily, Lita ignored Raye's comments and continued to drive peacefully as Serena and Amy stared at their driving friend with wide-eyes. They knew about her frequent dosage of road rage, but every time they witnessed it, they all thought of the same thing- _Look out for the Hilux 4WD and its crazy driver Miss Lita Kino when on the road as a pedestrian!_

Five minutes later Amy was back to reading her book and Raye had switched on her iPhone, placing ear phones into her ears while she fiddled around with her iPad, checking her schedule for gigs and her time at _The Shrine_. As Lita hummed along to the song playing on the radio staring straight ahead, Serena pulled out a ring she had carefully placed inside the front pocket of her jeans. She took in the countless glimmering baby-pink diamonds splattered on the white gold band and slowly slipped it on, smiling to herself as the ring fit perfectly around her slim middle finger. Of course, knowing Seiya, he would have had gotten the perfect size just for her. But why didn't the beautiful piece of jewellery feel right on her?

Remembering the night before, Serena thought of how Seiya had made their date wonderful- a moment to remember; they talked and laughed and even shared a few tender moments here and there. He was incredible and any girl would be lucky to have him, but with Serena, all she was… Well, with Seiya, she was just _comfortable_. She was _content_. And could she be happy with just that?

Closing her eyes, Serena relived the moment as they swayed to the beat of a slow rock romantic song the night before~

"_Here you are now  
Fresh from your wars  
Back from the edge of time..."_

Her head rested on his shoulder and after a while, he pulled her back to make her twirl, letting go off her hand. Serena didn't want to stop spinning. She was so afraid to open her eyes.

But the moment came when she finished three full twirls and she slowly began to open her eyes to find Seiya- with a smile so wide painted on his face, holding out a pink rose in one hand and the other hand hidden behind his back.

"_When you feel the world is crashin'  
All around your feet  
Come running headlong into my arms  
Breathless..."_

And when he pulled out the small heart shaped box from behind him, he took a few steps forward, giving her the rose in one delicate hand while gently grabbing the other. Looking into her eyes lovingly, he opened the box revealing the beautiful ring.

"Serena, would you be mine to keep, forever?" he asked.

She did not see this coming.

"_I'll never judge you  
I can only love you  
Come now running headlong  
Into my arms  
Breathless..."_

She couldn't say 'yes' as he slipped the ring onto her finger, because she wouldn't. Even though it was horrible of her to keep him hanging on, she didn't have the heart to break it off with him. Besides, what if he became someone she would regret just because she had let him go? She really did like him and maybe in time she would learn to truly love him. It was possible. Not everything had to be like the movies, where the words, _'I love you'_ could be said within three days to a complete stranger.

Love took time. It took patience. And one day she would have that feeling where she would definitely know that she was meant for Seiya and him for her. Yes… _One day_…

As she stared at the glittering band on her finger, she replied, "I'll let you know, tomorrow night."

And so she would. Tonight was that night, their first night on the cruise and she would say-

"Hey! Earth to Serena! What are you holding?" Raye asked, as she poked Serena's shoulder.

"Something," she quickly replied, stuffing the ring back into her pocket.

Raye continued to poke her with no words and getting annoyed after a while, Serena swatted Raye's annoying hand away, "Seriously Raye, not everything is your business!"

Amy lifted her gaze off her book for a moment to watch her two good friends start another fight- nothing new there.

"Oh, but with you, it _is_."

"Why, Raye? Why?" Serena prodded.

"_Because,_ Serena-"

"Okay, we're here!" Lita interrupted as she hit the brakes rather unceremoniously, causing Serena to grab onto the dashboard.

"Lita! What did we say about breaking like _that_?" Raye whinged as she rubbed her forehead.

Without replying, Lita opened her door and jumped out of the car to grab Serena's bags from the back. The three girls followed suit and stood behind the big car as Lita closed it up after dumping the bags onto the floor, ignoring Serena's scowl.

All around them, people buzzed about; children wailing, men giving out orders and mums barking at their kids. And when they got a good look at the massive ship before them, all in its white and glossy glory, they couldn't help but stare in awe. None of them had ever been on a cruise before, fishing boats and ferries- sure, but nothing as big as the monstrous ship looming over them. Serena plopped her bags down as the girls stopped and looked around, searching for one familiar face.

"I don't see Seiya," Amy finally spoke.

The girls looked around as Raye pulled out her iPhone, "I don't get it. I got a text just ten minutes ago saying, 'Waiting for you. Hurry.'"

Serena shrugged, "I wouldn't know. I left my phone at his house last night."

"Maybe he's on board already?" Lita suggested.

"Maybe," Amy muttered.

"Okay, then! Serena, we bid you farewell! I've just sent a text to Seiya telling him you'll meet him on the ship!"

"What? Raye, you're just gonna leave me?" Serena exclaimed.

"Of course not- we're gonna get your luggage taken _and then_ dump you on board," Raye explained as if Serena should have figured it all out.

Lita and Amy gave each other questioning looks as Raye dragged Serena and her bags. Sighing, the two girls walked behind the struggling blond and brunette who were yelling and being obscenely aggressive towards each other as they made their way towards the ship.

A few moments later Serena bags had been taken and was given a key card with her room number; she stood in the line on the platform, ready to board the ship, nervously looking back to the girls who stood on the solid concrete of the wharf.

Grasping the railings, she leant forward to get a better view of her friends. "What if he isn't here yet?" she yelled, ignoring the irritated looks of the couple who stood behind her in the line.

"Of course he is! Who knows, maybe he's already on your bed with a little surprise?" Raye yelled back, followed with a wink.

Serena gasped and adjusted herself properly, no longer paying attention to them- besides, they had already said their goodbyes and Serena seemed to be one of the last few to board the ship, but she was still unsure about the whole thing. It wasn't like Seiya to just go on; he would have waited for Serena. Unless he was already waiting for her with a surprise in their cabin- he was after all, the romantic type.

The three girls watched as their blond hair friend was finally greeted by crew members, got her ticket checked and then walked onto the ship. When they could no longer see her blond head they began to make their way to the car.

Raye's phone began to ring. "Hello? Seiya?" she answered.

Lita and Amy stopped to listen to Raye's side of the conversation.

"No, what? We're already here, Seiya. What are you saying? We thought that-"

Raye's eyes grew wide, "No, Mina said nothing to me. She's not with us- she got stuck at her photo shoo- What! We were? But you said- No! You said that you were waiting for- _At home?_ Why the hell- No, you never said- Ugh! Oh my God, I'm so sorry- Serena's already on the ship!"

Dropping the conversation, Raye stuffed her iPhone into her jacket as she swiftly changed directions and began to run back to the ship. Lita and Amy got the gist of the one sided conversation and followed Raye to the boarding gates, pushing aside the last of the passengers only to be stopped by security- two burly men in matching blue uniforms.

"Where are your tickets ladies?" a tall and scrawny man asked- obviously the ticket man.

Ignoring him, Raye and Lita looked behind the three men, frantically searching for a specific blond style in the crowd that had gathered on the deck.

"Erhem," the man coughed, "Tickets?"

"You don't understand," Raye breathed heavily, "We- we have a friend who just went on board and we have a message for her. Please- we'll be quick, if you just-"

"No can do pumpkin. No ticket, no entry," the man replied.

"Oh, come on! These two can accompany us if you want," Lita pitched in, pointing at the two sour looking security guards.

"Like I said- NO TICKET MEANS NO ENTRY!" he repeated, giving a hand signal to the two guards, "Now would you please move? We are running quite late."

And with that the two burly men pushed the three girls aside while Raye screamed, "Serena! Serena! SERENA!"

"Don't touch me!" Lita shrieked, slapping their hands away.

"Come on guys, there's nothing else we can do," Amy said, as she gently pulled Lita and Raye away before they could start on the guards, apologising as they made their way back onto the dock.

"We are _so_ screwed," Lita mumbled as they walked back to their car once again as Raye frantically spoke into her phone.

"Seiya! Where are you? Hurry up- Yeah, we tried. They wouldn't let us on- I know, right? What jerks! Okay, hurry," Raye hung up and looked back at the ship.

"Maybe they'll wait a while longer? Isn't it like the airport where they page for passengers?" Lita said, pretty doubtful of what she had just said.

Amy shook her head, "Oh Lita, if only. But unfortunately it doesn't work like that here- I'm sure."

"They'll wait though. It'll take them a while to leave," Raye said as they all leant against the car, watching the remaining of the passengers disappearing into the huge ship.

Ten minutes passed and the ship's crew began to prepare for their departure, pulling out the anchors and disenabling the railings and platform, as those on the docks pulled the planks and ropes away. Five more minutes later the ship still sat on the water, Raye's phone rang again.

"What? Seiya, you have to hurry- Well it's not _my_ fault you live on the other side of the city. Of course there would be traffic! There's always traffic!" Raye shouted into her phone.

When the bickering ended after a few more minutes, Raye turned to the girls and said, "I don't think he's going to make it."

Another twenty minutes went by and the ship's horn blew as it began to slowly drift away making the three girls groan in disappointment simultaneously.

"No! NO! WAIT! STOP THE SHIP!" someone yelled as they dashed by the three girls who instantly knew whom that voice belonged to.

"No-ooooh! Wait!" he cried, but it was useless, the cruise ship wouldn't stop and it was unlikely that someone had even heard him over the loud horn.

The girls rushed to his side and Raye began apologising immediately, "I'm so _sorry_, Seiya! We really did try to get on and we had no idea we were meant to pick you up and-"

He collapsed onto the ground, quietly replying, "It's okay Raye, it wasn't entirely your fault. It was a case of miscommunication and my stupidity of trusting Mina to pass a message along."

"Yup, you shouldn't have done _that_," Lita whispered.

Sighing, Seiya didn't look up, but continued to stare ate the concrete floor, "I guess I'll just have to wait for her reply in two weeks' time."

"She hasn't replied?" Raye gasped.

Finally looking up, Seiya gave a sad smile, "Yeah. She said she would let me know tonight. Turns out I have to wait just a little bit longer."

"I am so- _SO SORRY_," Raye repeated.

Seiya held a hand up to stop her apologies and another one when Amy and Lita began to join in on the apologies.

"It's alright guys. I just hope she has fun," he looked at the now distant cruise ship, before saying, "Come on, let's go grab some ice-cream. My treat, yeah?"

"No," Lita drawled out, "It should be _our_ treat."

Amy nodded her head, "Yes, she's right. We really are sorry, Seiya."

"Yeah, we'll shout you _whatever_ you want for the whole two weeks Serena's away! Especially Mina!" Raye added.

The other two girls nodded in agreement as Seiya laughed, "Okay then, we'll start off with the ice-cream, and we'll go on from there."

He was such a nice guy- _too_ much of a nice guy- that Raye hoped and prayed for him Serena would give him the right answer. Because Serena would be an idiot to let him go, "For your sake, Seiya, I hope she says 'yes'."

"So do I Raye, so do I," Seiya replied and gave a small smile.

**- & . . . **

He had gotten on the cruise without a problem and boy did it feel good to not have been mobbed by fans as he boarded the ship. Darien had planned the whole vacation carefully; arriving in a taxi with his agent, Timothy Corrs, Darien had gotten rid of his trade mark jet black hair- for now- and had it dyed walnut brown, trimmed and stylishly spiked. He even wore contacts that were specially made to replace his cold blue eyes making them a soft blue, like the sky on a clear day. But just in case, he boarded the ship with the manager- the only person on the cruise besides, Timothy, who knew Darien was on board- before anybody else had enough time to notice him. But Darien hoped nobody would recognise him, probably a few, "Hey, you look just like Darien Shields," and with this Darien would simply say- "Really? Thank you, I get that a lot back home," in a month long practiced Australian accent.

A week before the cruise, Darien had told the media of his desired plans to go to Hawaii for a short break. This sent the paparazzi on a wild goose chase, expecting him to be party-ing it up on a yacht with a few decent looking models and some male company. Darien didn't have many male friends, his closest being his agent and a child hood friend named Andrew.

Walking out of his first class cabin, Darien decided it was time to wander around the ship again now that there were more people on board. Leaving behind his sleeping agent, Darien walked out wearing a pair of Ray Bans. Within the first five minutes he walked around the main hallways leading to the dining rooms, ball room and conference rooms, he had been checked out by plenty of women, young and old as he would check them out in return.

After a while of searching, Darien couldn't find a girl that- how do you say it? - tickled his fancy. What was wrong with him? Shaking his head, he began to walk back to his cabin, deciding that he hadn't really wandered about the whole ship- there was still the deck and lounge room area, not to mention the pool with all the lovely, long or toned legs strutting about once everyone was settled. Hands in his pockets, he turned a corner and _there_ leaning against the door opposite from his cabin was by far the most beautiful girl he had ever seen yet.

Her slim legs were stretched out, showing off as she wore short denim cut offs. His eyes trailed further up; raking over her flat stomach and hot pink bikini clad breasts with a white towel tossed over a shoulder. Stopping dead in his tracks, he watched as she continuously hit the back of her head against the wooden door, her golden hair done up in an unusual style of two ball-like-buns perched on top of her head swaying with her every move.

She had her eyes closed as she muttered things towards the ceiling and Darien couldn't help but feel mesmerised towards her. Seriously, what was the matter with him? He was Darien Shields, and _no_ girl has ever made him feel like this… No girl _should ever_ make him feel like this. But before he could make a move, she stopped her head banging and looked at his direction with the most amazing blue eyes- even more amazing than his mother's.

As she stared at him, Darien stared back with his own blue eyes hiding behind his darkly tinted sunglasses. Darien waited a little longer before giving her one of his to-die-for smiles, but instead of getting the initial reaction of a smile in return, he was greeted with a frown! She pushed herself off the door, straightening herself out and Darien noted that she wasn't as tall as he thought she would be, probably just reaching his lips on his 6'2" frame- buns and all.

He watched as she began to walk towards him, eyes glued to her hips as they sashayed from side to side. He found her walk to be quite sexy.

When had the hallway become empty? Had it been like that for a while now? _Where the heck was everybody else already? _Millions of questions were running through his mind. Clearing his throat, he waited for her to finally approach him and when she did, she continued walking past him.

"_Creep_," she muttered loud enough for him to hear as he stood there in utter shock and then she was gone.

Darien shook his head; well, that was a first! Never has a female resisted his looks! Sure, his black hair complimented his chiselled jaws and handsome features and his eyes gave him that mysterious, brooding look but even after his slight transformation for a disguise, Darien still thought he looked- not to be up himself- HOT. The lustful looks he gained from walking around the ship that same hour proved it. So why hadn't she shown the slightest interest in him just then?

_She must be blind-_ he concluded opening his door and walking into his luxurious cabin-sort-of-suite.

_Yup, definitely blind._

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**- & -  
END OF JUMP AND FALL**_** CHAPTER TWO: I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT SO DON'T ASK ME**_

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Reviews would be nice, please? :)

- L


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